State Sen. Royce West, left, chats with Gilberto Hinojosa, center, a candidate for the chair of the Texas Democratic Party, and Hinojosa's wife, Cyndi, at the 2012 Texas Democratic Party State Convention in Houston. less

State Sen. Royce West, left, chats with Gilberto Hinojosa, center, a candidate for the chair of the Texas Democratic Party, and Hinojosa's wife, Cyndi, at the 2012 Texas Democratic Party State Convention in ... more

Photo: James Nielsen

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Auction items cover a table at the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Americas hotel during the Democratic Party's kickoff reception.

Auction items cover a table at the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Americas hotel during the Democratic Party's kickoff reception.

Photo: James Nielsen

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Parties open conventions with calls to the fight

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FORT WORTH - Republicans opened their 2012 convention Thursday united against President Barack Obama, but revealing the family divisions between establishment leaders and conservatives including tea party enthusiasts looking for anti-government warriors.

The divide was exposed when Gov. Rick Perry drew a wave of boos for praising Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is battling tea party-backed Ted Cruz for the party's nod for U.S. Senate.

It was further highlighted when U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, scheduled to speak about "Uniting Republicans and Balancing the Federal Budget," made it clear he is not looking for unity at any cost.

"If you bring people together for the wrong ideas, what good is it? You have to bring people together for the right ideas," Paul told an enthusiastic crowd that more than once broke into chants of "President Paul!"

The convention traditionally is a time for Republicans to unite, although the late Texas runoff election date is putting something of a crimp in that this year. Convention-goers are hearing from a roster of state and national figures, including elected Texas leaders and former presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who has a star turn at a fundraising gala. They also will take care of party business, including the election of party officials, selecting delegates to the national convention and approving a platform containing the party's positions and goals.

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Smiling convention-goers who arrived by the thousands, many of them decked out in red, white and blue, were quick to turn vocal on the convention floor and at Paul's breakout session.

They applauded and roared their approval when Perry lauded the slashing of funds to Planned Parenthood and called 2008 "our national 'oops' moment," referring to Obama's election and his own much-noted 2011 debate gaffe.

The mood, however, quickly turned when Perry said, "We all know in our hearts that Texas is the laboratory of conservative reform. We need more strong conservatives in Texas and we need more conservative Texans in Washington, D.C., including my friend, David Dewhurst."

The statement drew a gush of "boos" and, perhaps, a drawn-out "Cruz" - neither a good sign for the lieutenant governor.

Dewhurst and Perry later brushed aside the moment, suggesting they thought the crowd was shouting "Dew."

"Everybody's united against Obama and the Democrats," said convention-goer Ben Streusand of Houston, chairman of the advisory board for Americans for Prosperity and a political contributor on KSEV radio. He said even though many do not believe de facto presidential nominee Mitt Romney is conservative, "They're going to support him because they're sick of what's going on in Washington."

In his remarks, Paul was optimistic about the chances of success for his limited-government movement.

"Our freedom movement might not be winning all these battles, but we're going to win the war," he said.

There is a strong contingent of Paul supporters at the convention who hope to win a sizable number of the 155 delegates to the national convention in Tampa, which would allow them to push his views and show their support for him.

"I would like to see him get nominated," said Vaughan. "It appears that Mitt Romney is a shoo-in. He's won it, that's what it appears. But things are not always as they appear. We'll see."

Meanwhile in Houston, at the George R. Brown Convention Center, the Democrats were engaged in preliminaries, prior to opening-night receptions at the Hilton Americas next door. Ed Martin, of Austin, a longtime Democratic strategist and former executive director of the party, said he had been in a seven-hour meeting of the platform committee. Also meeting were the nominations committee, the temporary rules committee and other elements of the party apparatus.

"The goals of this convention are to educate, energize our delegates to go back home and work as hard as they can work for Democratic candidates all across the state," said outgoing party chairman Boyd Richie.

'Rising stars'

The spotlight, several delegates said, would be on the party's "rising stars," including San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, who is engaged in a tough battle to hold on to her seat.

Richie, who described Davis as "one of the brightest lights of my tenure," nevertheless warned his fellow Democrats against investing all their hopes in particular candidates instead of building an infrastructure that will support candidates.

"For too long," he said, "our party has been in the position of looking for that one candidate, that media star, that messiah that's going to carry us, instead of us carrying them."